


Wild's Best Friend

by loveandwar007



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Action, Adventure, Blood and Injury, F/M, Family, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Romance, cute puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 02:25:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19454407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveandwar007/pseuds/loveandwar007
Summary: Link and Zelda make a new furry friend in their travels, but disagree on whether or not to keep him until a sudden attack puts everything into perspective.





	Wild's Best Friend

“Hmm, it’s definitely a puzzle of some sort.” Zelda tapped her chin, staring up at the square blocks jutting out from the side of the cliff that gleamed with a magnetic sheen. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out how to solve it.” She glanced over her shoulder at her rather handsome escort, who was seated on a log rearranging the arrows in his bulging quiver. “How many of these did you come across again?”

Link dropped his arrows, glancing up at her in deflated exasperation before shaking his head and rotating his flattened hands in front of his chest:  _ “Too many.”  _ He had never liked puzzles, and to his dismay he had encountered more of them in his travels than most people did in a lifetime. Zelda, however, would have been in heaven.

“I see,” she chuckled, crossing the dirt road to kneel in front of him. “Well, at least you don’t have to figure them out alone now.” Her fingers idly played with the feathered fletchings sticking out of the quiver as Link tucked the last of the arrows inside, her green eyes sparkling playfully. “Perhaps we should find a spot to rest in case it rains.” The sky over West Necluda was quickly becoming an ominous dark grey, and should it decide to pour, Zelda wasn’t sure their travel cloaks would be enough to shield them.

_ “There’s a hollow in that tree,” _ Link signed, gesturing to the forest behind him and specifically at a large apple tree towards the center.

“Large enough for two?”

He smiled, pushing his archery equipment aside so he could draw Zelda closer, pressing his forehead against hers.  _ “It might be a tight fit,”  _ he mouthed with a sly gleam in his azure orbs.

“Ah, well I guess it’ll have to do,” she replied in mock disappointment before leaning into him and kissing his lips. Despite how rough and scarred much of Link’s body was after the Great Calamity, his face remained smooth and his lips gentle, a sort of magic within them far greater than anything she possessed. Zelda had never imagined this introverted loner as someone who longed for affection. But in the way his hands held her — firmly, passionately and so protectively — she couldn’t help wondering if he saved this tenderness for only the most special of people.

Link found his lungs begging for air after a minute and regretfully pulled away from the sweet taste of his love’s kiss, his hands cupping her neck, bare since her hair had been cut short. At least now he could look into her eyes, green pools he had known and memorized long ago, that he hung onto as tiny bits of his memories weaved themselves back together again, that not even a Calamity or a century of stasis could take away from him. She blinked when a swift drop from the sky above landed on her cheek, and Link felt one hit the top of his head as well. Pulling their cloaks tighter around themselves against the wind, they ducked inside the surrounding forest as Link guided Zelda towards the hollowed tree.

“This is rather cozy,” the princess mused, crawling inside on her hands and knees. “Much better than attempting to make it to Kakariko before it rains harder.” She glanced up at Link who, true to his warrior blood, was scanning the area for enemies that might attack. “Link, come inside. It’s getting colder.” Her heart leapt as Link’s hand went around his back, going for the hilt of his sword.

_ He heard something, _ she thought anxiously, watching his pointed ears twitch. Staying as still as possible, Zelda strained her own ears to listen to the air around her. Complete silence, outside of the gentle patter of rain. “Link…” He held out his hand, indicating that she stay hidden while he stepped out into the wooded area to investigate. Zelda bit her lip. This always made her nervous. It did before the Calamity, and even more so now that she had him back after nearly losing him forever. The recklessness and his fierce devotion to keeping her safe had never left him, in fact those tendencies were now worse than ever. And while she knew he could hold his own against an entire camp of moblins or the devastation of a lynel, she also knew he was constantly one misstep away from the unthinkable. It drove her mad.

A twig snapped, and Link sprang into action, diving to the left of their shelter and out of Zelda’s line of sight. A grunt, the metallic unsheathing of his blade, and then silence. Two seconds too long of silence.  _ Oh no… Oh Hylia,  _ _ no. _

“Link?!” Zelda scrambled to her feet clumsily in the soft dirt, propelling herself out into the now steady rain. “Where are you?” One of the difficulties of having a mute partner — especially an  _ impulsive _ mute partner — was that when he took off on his own, there were very limited ways of tracking him down. Normally this didn’t bother her, but it certainly did with his life possibly on the line. “Link, answer me!”

A hearty sound came from a nearby oak, its trunk so thick she was unable to see around the other side. It was definitely Link, but it wasn’t the vocalizations of combat she was expecting from him. Rather it sounded like…  _ Is he laughing? _

Irritation flared in her heart, and she drew herself up like the queen she technically was. “This isn’t funny! You scared me half to death,” she said haughtily, stomping towards him. “Every time you run off like that, I—”

Zelda gasped slightly, hanging onto the trunk for balance as the sight before her literally took her aback. Link was squatting on the ground with a dirty bundle of fur in his arms that squirmed and leapt up to lick his face. It was a stray puppy, perhaps abandoned or run off. A husky of some sort with tall wolflike ears and a grey and white coat. The pup whined and barked, and Link laughed back before scratching its ears. It was as if they spoke their own language Zelda could not understand.

But perhaps that was a result of her hero’s conquering of the wild. The wildlife responded naturally to him, and he welcomed the creatures lost or on the run. They were his only companions for so long, and it broke Zelda’s heart to imagine Link spending so many days and nights alone since his awakening. Yet it warmed her to see such a genuine smile on his face as he cradled the scrappy pup, moving her to crouch beside him.

“So this is the little rascal causing such a racket out here?” she chuckled, cupping her hands around its head to playfully muss up its fur, now matted from the rain. “Come here precious thing, you can wait out this downpour with us.” The dog leapt out of Link’s arms and against Zelda’s chest, where she caught it and chuckled as it licked her neck. Expecting the pup to run straight for the hollow when she set it down, she was surprised when it dashed for Link again, bouncing against his leg eagerly until he picked it up.

_ “Guess he likes me better,” _ Link mouthed with a teasing glint in his eye, and Zelda swatted his arm. A rumble of thunder sounded overhead, their cue to take shelter once again as the now threesome crouched beneath the tree and waited.

“Aww, he’s frightened.” Zelda watched the pup shiver in Link’s lap, his ears perked up in alarm as Link ran his hand soothingly over his back.

_ “I know how he feels.”  _ Zelda watched Link’s lips form the words, sliding closer to him after the moment of comprehension passed. “You’re bothered by thunderstorms, too?” She thought she would have remembered that from a century ago.

_ “I didn’t used to be,”  _ Link sighed, his reply taking on a slight whisper. His raised his hand to his chest and lowered it towards the ground with wiggling fingers.  _ “The rain…”  _ His fingers curled into a fist for a moment, as if collecting himself, before going on.  _ “It reminds me of that day.” _

Zelda’s heart sank — she didn’t have to ask what day he meant. “I know, love.” She took his hand in both of hers, pressing it to her lips and cradling it against her chest. Even though it had been a hundred years, for the two of them the wounds were still fresh. An event that was now in Hyrule’s history books  _ they _ were still grieving. So much so that even a common occurrence such as a rainstorm triggered deeply buried terrors. Just as Zelda panicked every time Link threw himself in harm’s way, a simple change of weather could set Link off. They settled against each other with the puppy between them, knowing it was going to be a long road to happiness once more. A winding one that may not truly have a final destination.

“He really does like you,” Zelda remarked to lighten the mood, watching the little husky nestle his nose into Link’s collarbone. “And he seems to have calmed now that the thunder’s passed.” She looked up to find Link’s eyes boring into her, as if they housed a wordless plea, a hidden desire. Her gaze held his for a moment. Then traveled back down to the dog. Then back up to him.

“Link,” she realized wearily, shaking her head. “No, we can’t.”

_ “Why can’t we?”  _ he signed while pressing his cheek against the pup’s head.

“We can barely feed ourselves. How can we possibly provide for a third mouth?” 

_ “He can hunt for his own food,”  _ Link insisted.  _ “And ours. I can tell he has good tracking senses.” _

“We’re so busy trying to rebuild our home — our  _ kingdom,”  _ Zelda protested, steadfast in resisting Link’s pouting face. “There’s no time to care for a pet as well.”

_ “You mean like Epona and Icarus?” _

“That’s different, you  _ know  _ that’s different! We need them to traverse across Hyrule.”

_ “And we need this little guy to track for us.” _

“Link, don’t be—”

_ “Zelda.”  _ His lips forming her name stopped her mid-sentence, as did the earnesty in his stare.  _ “He’s all alone out here. Just like I was.” _ The truth of his words touched her, no doubt about it. But all Zelda could think of in that moment was how brutal their first winter in Hateno had been. The bitter winds had cut through the walls of their house as if they were paper and made it too frigid outside to hunt. The frost lasted over a month longer than anticipated and they ran out of food, prompting Link to set out and capture more fresh meat against Zelda’s wishes. As a result, he had fallen so ill that she had no choice but to take him to Impa, where he stayed and recuperated for two weeks. Perhaps she was spoiled in this regard, but she had never been so hungry, or so fearful that they would succumb to the elements. And that was just with the two of them. Should a pet — or Hylia forbid, a  _ child  _ — come into the picture before they could properly provide for them, it would be crippling.

Link knew what Zelda was thinking about and understood her reasoning, yet couldn’t take his eyes off of the scruffy little bundle in his hands. He could give this poor thing a good home and love him with all his heart. He had done the same for Zelda, making sure she was happy, comfortable and  _ loved _ to the best of his abilities, so there was no reason he couldn’t do the same now.  _ “Just look at him.”  _ He held the dog up so their faces were side by side, twisting his mouth into a pout.

“Don’t do that,” Zelda ordered, folding her arms over her chest. “You can’t win me over like this, it won’t work.” Link let out a little whine, prompting the dog to do the same and she grumbled, “Link, honestly!” He did a near perfect imitation of a wolf’s howl, and the puppy wailed its little lungs along with him. Under different circumstances, Zelda would have laughed, but now she scowled and whipped her head around to look outside. “Oh thank Hylia, it stopped raining!”

_ “Don’t change the subject,”  _ Link mouthed, but she didn’t see him as she pushed herself out of the hollow and into the clearing. Rolling his eyes, he glanced down at the pup to see his ears pointed straight up, his wet nose twitching and his clear blue eyes staring straight ahead. And then Link’s own ear twitched, picking up on a sound very close by…

_ “Stay,”  _ he ordered, setting the dog back on the ground where he obediently curled up among the leaves. Unsheathing his sword, Link darted out of the hollow and scanned the area for Zelda — so focused that he nearly fell victim to the moblin closing in on his left.

“Link!” He ducked as Zelda leapt over him, smacking the creature in the face with a fallen tree branch. “There’s a horde of them!” Whirling around, he saw that she was right. A colony of moblins flanked by feisty bokoblins had them surrounded, bearing a host of freshly sharpened spears and claymores. Link instantly pushed Zelda behind him, shielding her from any incoming attack as the creatures simply circled the two of them and waited, with no intention of letting them leave unscathed.

“Your bow,” Zelda whispered and Link nodded, allowing her to discreetly remove the bow and quiver from his back. Whirling around, she swiftly fired a bomb arrow at the moblin who had sneaked up on Link, sending the monster reeling a few feet backwards.

The rest of the creatures pounced forward, and Link launched himself at them with a spin attack. Some of the bokoblins went down with ease, others required more effort on Link’s part before they too fell. The air was filled with shrieks of dying monsters drowning out the exerted grunts and cries of the hero of the wild and his princess as they took down one after another. The ease of their cooperation in situations like these always made Link wish Zelda had been there to battle with him on his journey to defeat Ganon. Perhaps he could have outwitted lynels faster with her around.

As he swung his dirt crusted and bloodied blade around to finish off a final adversary, Link heard a loud gasp behind him. The lone remaining moblin knocked the bow out of Zelda’s hands and flung it against a tree where it shattered, this creature easily being the strongest of all of them. Zelda’s fingers desperately scrambled the ground for something she could use as a weapon as the moblin leered above her with his protruding snout and disgustingly extended tongue. There was a spear just a few feet away, if only she could  _ grab _ it.

Link slipped around him to deliver a sneak attack and finish him off for good, an idea he would soon discover was not as ingenious as he hoped. The brute stuck out his massive foot and sent Zelda sprawling, coughing and spluttering up dirt. Whipping her head around, her heart sank. The spear was gone. And in the hands of the lone moblin. As he raised it above her head, Zelda rolled along the ground out of his attack range, only for his foot to slam down on her cloak, holding her in place. Zelda struggled to unfasten the clasp around her neck and free herself while the gleeful moblin plunged the spear downward…

_ Squelch! _

It was a thoroughly sickening sound, but to Link it couldn’t have been more satisfying. Twisting the Master Sword into the creature’s back for good measure, he leapt back as it dropped to the ground with a final thud and remained still. With a triumphant  _ “ha!”,  _ Link extracted his blade and fumbled for the cape of his hood to clean it. A sudden whimper of pain stopped him cold, and he rushed around the fallen corpse to find where Zelda had ended up. The spear had missed its target over her heart, but Link had not prevented it from missing Zelda completely. She remained crumpled on the ground, her hand clutching her shoulder, the skin torn from the spear’s tip and staining her fingers a deep crimson red.

Link dropped the sword and slid onto his knees, helping Zelda up into a sitting position so he could examine her. The blood was everywhere, soaking the blue and white fabric of her bodice as she gritted her teeth, tears seeping out of the corners of her eyes. He pried her fingers away from the wound, and when he saw how deeply she had been pierced, he was overwhelmed by a myriad of emotions — anger, helplessness, guilt, and chief among them, fear. A fear many were convinced he was incapable of feeling, a fear that gripped him so tightly he nearly stopped breathing. But Zelda’s gentle whimpering forced him to stay strong. He couldn’t fall apart while the woman he loved was in such dire condition.

He gently cupped her cheek, prodding her to open her eyes and look at him.  _ “I need to rip your shirt so I can look at this.” _ Zelda coughed out a couple of sobs before nodding at the words his fingers formed, and now Link could see the spray of her blood that had stained her neck and the ends of her shortened hair. Moving behind her, he grabbed onto her back collar and tugged hard, tearing the fabric down to her upper chest. The gash spread from the bottom of her left shoulder blade up to — Link’s stomach turned — dangerously close to her jugular. One inch closer and she would have been gone forever. Saying a silent prayer of thanks to Hylia, he closely examined the gash and found bits of the spear’s tip lodged within her exposed flesh.  _ Oh no…  _ He’s had this happen to him a few times, and each time the extractions had been excruciating. But he couldn’t risk her getting an infection and making it worse.

_ “Zelda, listen,”  _ he whispered, putting his face close to hers so she understood.  _ “This is going to hurt a lot, but I have to take the pieces of spear out before I bandage you.” _

“Do whatever you need to,” Zelda gulped, wiping her still streaming eyes on the back of her hand. “I trust you, I always have.” A whine that did not belong to her wafted towards them on the breeze, and they turned to see the pup emerging from his hiding spot unharmed. He sprinted towards Zelda, no doubt alerted by her crying, and rested his paws on her knee. “Oh you sweet thing,” Zelda sniffled, pulling the dog into her lap and stroking his head while he pawed at her chest. Link gave him an affectionate scratch and a nod that said  _ “Keep her company” _ before he got to work on Zelda’s battle wound. 

The puppy would bounce and chase its own tail, eliciting several giggles from the princess to take her mind off the slipshod surgery Link was performing. But every moment he pulled a piece of metal out, she winced with a cry that would pierce the most unfeeling heart, and the husky was still there, burrowing into her arms and licking the salty tears from her cheeks. “You’re such a dear, trying to cheer me up,” Zelda hiccuped, cuddling the dog close as more tears soaked into his fur. “And here I was about to…” She trailed off, feeling Link’s lips press into her neck, a silent apology that he needed to extract another shard, and she braced herself. After nearly eight rounds of this, Link let out a long sigh and tore a piece of white cloth with his teeth, winding it tightly around her gash to stem the blood flow.

_ “It will do until we get to Kakariko and have Impa take care of it,”  _ Link mouthed, but Zelda seemed to only have eyes for the dog, planting little kisses on his head as he relished in her kind voice and gentle embrace. She looked up to find Link gazing at the two of them fondly.

“I adore your smile, you know that?” she whispered, reaching up to stroke his cheek. That smile faded away as the enormity of what happened, and what  _ could  _ have happened, washed over Link like a tidal wave.  _ “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”  _ Wrapping his arms carefully around her, he buried his face in her good shoulder before his composure unraveled completely.

“You saved my life, ‘Hero’,” Zelda teased to lighten the mood, but gave up when she felt how distressed he was. Although his sorrow was silent, their pup companion still sensed it and nuzzled Link’s arm as Zelda returned his embrace. “Thank you… I love you, Link.”

_ “I love you, too.”  _ he managed to whisper, pulling back to close her cloak around her front so she would not be exposed in her torn shirt, and placing a deep kiss on her lips. Their display of passion abruptly ended at the husky’s sharp bark and they jolted apart.

“Link, about the dog—”

_ “If you don’t think we can keep him, then we won’t keep him.”  _ He pressed his forehead against hers.  _ “I trust you.” _

Now it was Zelda’s turn to smile. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

Link’s face lit up like a child on their birthday.  _ “Really?” _

“Really.”

He laughed triumphantly, grabbing Zelda’s face and kissing both her cheeks before scooping up the happily barking pup and swinging him around in the air. He was going to be giving that dog far more attention than he would her, and it was a sacrifice Zelda was more than willing to make to feel the warmth of Link’s smile, the glow of his joy rooted directly in his heart. After her time with their new pet, she was confident the little one would not only be an excellent hunter and tracker of enemies, but would be a comfort to her and Link’s healing minds and souls. Perhaps it was this companionship that the two of them most desperately needed.

“A proper pet deserves a proper name,” Zelda pointed out.

Link cocked his head to the side thoughtfully, holding the puppy up to his eye level. Then he used one hand to spell out five letters.

“‘Shade’? Why ‘Shade’?”

_ “Because we found him in the shade,”  _ Link replied.  _ “That’s where he was when he sensed those monsters before I did. And when we hunt, that’s where we’ll hide out.” _

Zelda stood to take the dog into her arms. “Shade?” she tried, and he barked in response. “Well, that was easy — ‘Shade’ it is then!”

She hugged Shade close as Link pulled the two of them close against his chest, basking in each other’s love for a moment before the three of them set out for Kakariko Village. It wouldn’t be long before their family grew into four, but for those first few years, Shade was their pride and joy.

And just as another blue-eyed beast had been hundreds of years prior, he became a symbol in bringing light back to the dark and desolate Hyrule.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are great, but comments are better :)


End file.
